SatRevolution REC Constellation for Agriculture

WROCLAW, Poland (SatRevolution PR) — As of May 31st, 2020, SatRevolution started the work on the project co-financed with The National Center for Research and Development, named “Developing a Revolutionary Earth Imaging Service using the REC Satellite Constellation.”

The project shall conclude with the successful launch of 8 satellites into Low-Earth orbit in May 2023, however, the data delivery from the constellation shall begin even before the project’s conclusion. The project budget is 53 million zlotych ($14 million). It will be the first Polish constellation of Earth observation satellites to be designed, manufactured and launched in recorded Polish history.

The purpose of these eight satellites in orbit is to provide imaging with spatial resolution below 1m in the smallest time intervals for Poland. The images will provide satellite monitoring for the most important and influential branches of the Polish economy and public administration. Data from these images will have a strong impact on the agricultural industry for multiple reasons.

After 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development from the European Commission will provide on-the-spot images of farmers’ lands taken from orbit. The images or “monitoring” will have the consent of farmers that subscribe to funding from the EU. Imaging data will come from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites, which are part of the constellation Copernicus. In Poland, the Agency of Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture (ARiMR) is responsible for “agriculture monitoring”.

According to Farmer’s Weekly, more than 60% of Poland’s total land area is taken up by farming. Statistic says that there are roughly 1,5 million small family farms of less than 9ha in Poland. From a Sentinel 1&2 usage point of view, these small farms are challenging to monitor. This is where SatRevolution and REC constellation enter the picture. The Imagery data provided by the constellation will be revolutionary not only for agriculture but for any other Polish institute.

As a result, it allows the monitoring of small farmlands with GSD about 1m across every region of Poland. Another advantage is the constant monitoring and contact with the farmer and agency.  The idea is not to sanction the farmer but instead to help when needed. Additionally, satellite imagery will provide the most accurate data possible due to short updates and revisit time of every 4-6 days.

The future awaits for SatRevolution’s constellation to be launched and operate out in orbit. The constellation will revolutionize the monitoring of farmlands in Poland and in near-future – of other countries as well. From 2020, SatRevolution will start the provision of data based on existing in-orbit capabilities, with higher resolution imagery becoming available in stages.